Neh 4:2-4, Est 3:6-8, Psa 44:13-14, 71:11, 83:4, 123:3-4, Lam 2:15-16 | ESV | STEP | And he said in the presence of his brothers and of the army of Samaria , What are these feeble Jews doing ? Will they restore it for themselves? Will they sacrifice ? Will they finish up in a day ? Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish , and burned ones at that?

2 And he said in the presence of his brothers and of the army of ^aSamaria, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they restore it for themselves? ^{▼▼Or Will they commit themselves to God?} Will they sacrifice? Will they finish up in a day? Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish, and burned ones at that?” 3 ^cTobiah the Ammonite was beside him, and he said, “Yes, what they are building— ^dif a fox goes up on it he will break down their stone wall!” 4 ^eHear, O our God, for we are despised. ^fTurn back their taunt on their own heads and give them up to be plundered in a land where they are captives.

Esther 3:6-8

6 But he disdained to lay hands on Mordecai alone. So, as they had made known to him the people of Mordecai, Haman sought to destroy all the Jews, the people of Mordecai, throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus.

7 In the first month, which is the month of Nisan, in the twelfth year of King Ahasuerus, ^gthey cast Pur (that is, they cast lots) before Haman day after day; and they cast it month after month till the twelfth month, which is ^hthe month of Adar. 8 Then Haman said to King Ahasuerus, “There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom. ⁱTheir laws are different from those of every other people, and they do not keep the king’s laws, so that it is not to the king’s profit to tolerate them.

Psalms 44:13-14

13 You have made us ^jthe taunt of our neighbors,
the derision and ^kscorn of those around us.
14 You have made us ^la byword among the nations,
^ma laughingstock ^{▼▼Hebrew a shaking of the head} among the peoples.

Psalms 71:11

11 and say, “God has forsaken him;
pursue and seize him,
for there is none to deliver him.”

Psalms 83:4

4 They say, “Come, ^olet us wipe them out as a nation;
let the name of Israel be remembered no more!”

Psalms 123:3-4

3 ^pHave mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us,
for we have had more than enough of ^qcontempt.
4 Our soul has had more than enough
of ^rthe scorn of ^sthose who are at ease,
of the contempt of ^tthe proud.

Lamentations 2:15-16

15 All who pass along the way
clap their hands at you;
^uthey hiss and wag their heads
at the daughter of Jerusalem:
“Is this the city that was called
^vthe perfection of beauty,
^wthe joy of all the earth?”
16 ^xAll your enemies
rail against you;
they hiss, they gnash their teeth,
they cry: “We ^yhave swallowed her!
Ah, this is the day we longed for;
now we have it; ^zwe see it!”